What is self-image?

You may ask, what is self-image? According to Toney Allman's book, "Understanding Self-Image and Confidence", it says, "Self-image is the mental picture that each person has of him-self or herself."

I'm not enough.

I'm enough.

Self-image is made up in your head. Things can influence how you think of yourself. For example, people or social media can make your self-image positive or negative.

I think her hair is beautiful.

Did you see Megan's hair? It's so ugly.

I think my hair is beautiful.

Olivia 

probably thinks I'm weird.

There are two different types of self-image, negative and positive. A negative self-image is made up of feeling worthless, self-consciousness, comparing themself, and many more. You can fix a negative self-image, if you don't it could lead to many disorders. 

Low self-image can be a symptom of several mental health conditions. One condition is depression. In Toney Allman's book, "Understanding Self-image and Confidence" It says depression is, "An emotional state characterized by sad-ness, low self-worth, guilt, and an inability to enjoy life."

Depression can be staying in bed because you are too sad to get up.

Harper:

Do you want to go to a party tonight?

I don't really want to go to the party because crowds make me anxious.

 Another mental health condition is anxiety. In Toney Allman's book, "Understanding Self-image and Confidence", It says anxiety disorder is, "A mental disorder characterized by chronic, unreasonably severe anxiety and fear about the present and future."

Here is an example of what someone with a negative self-image could sound like.

My hair looks so bad today, I am so self conscious.

I am good enough and today will be awesome.

A positive self-image consists of thinking positively about yourself. It can make you confident, strive for goals, and it makes you positive even when you hit a low.

There are multiple ways you can improve your self-image, one is realizing all your thoughts you have about yourself are not always true. You can do this if you are thinking negatively about yourself by changing those negative thoughts to positive. 

I am so bad at school

I am going to study to do good at school

Hey I've been struggling with my self-image could you help me?

Of course! Let's go get lunch.

Another way you can improve your self-image is by talking to someone. This could be your best friends, mom or dad, or a therapist. You can ask them how to improve your self-image.

Another way to improve your self-image is by exercising and making sure you get a lot of sleep. This is very important to keep yourself healthy. If you are not taking care of yourself it could cause problems.